Tomorrow
This evening as we had the viewing for Krystal, Val told me that he almost feels bad cause here we are weeping our eyes out and he is just so drained from all the crying he’s done that he has no tears left. I assured him that we understood and felt no hard feelings whatsoever.
In some ways it is so tough to have two funerals. Yet this one is sure to be the harder of the two because of tomorrow. Here at Kitchi, the graveside service is different than any other service I was ever at before moving here. First of all, we dig the grave by hand. Then when the casket is lowered into its wooden vault, the lid is screwed or nailed down and then they fill the grave back in by hand. A few years ago when Krystal’s daughter Kayla was buried there, each of the children and Val helped to fill in the grave. They were not told to do this, it was simply done by them.
I watched as the family struggled with their emotions and wondered if this wasn’t a little to rough. Yet I wonder, does not the final reality of the grave close the door on the past and bring to an end the time that our loved one was with us?
I wrote in the previous post about my hearts desire to cling to the past, to want Krystal to still be with us, to refuse to accept that fact that only her body remains, her spirit is home with God. Yet by physically placing her in the earth’s bosom, with each shovel full of dirt, we loose the hold on the past and look forward to the reunion of the future. Does it remove the pain? By all means NO! Yet it does a more subtle work of helping our hearts to accept what our eyes and spirits know, she is dead here but the future reunion is to be looked for and anticipated.
Quote of the Day;
“Krystal loved symbolism. She was going to a wedding for someone else. She didn’t know she would be going to her own wedding to her Lord.”
-Dale Ropp, Deacon at Kitchi Pines, MN
In some ways it is so tough to have two funerals. Yet this one is sure to be the harder of the two because of tomorrow. Here at Kitchi, the graveside service is different than any other service I was ever at before moving here. First of all, we dig the grave by hand. Then when the casket is lowered into its wooden vault, the lid is screwed or nailed down and then they fill the grave back in by hand. A few years ago when Krystal’s daughter Kayla was buried there, each of the children and Val helped to fill in the grave. They were not told to do this, it was simply done by them.
I watched as the family struggled with their emotions and wondered if this wasn’t a little to rough. Yet I wonder, does not the final reality of the grave close the door on the past and bring to an end the time that our loved one was with us?
I wrote in the previous post about my hearts desire to cling to the past, to want Krystal to still be with us, to refuse to accept that fact that only her body remains, her spirit is home with God. Yet by physically placing her in the earth’s bosom, with each shovel full of dirt, we loose the hold on the past and look forward to the reunion of the future. Does it remove the pain? By all means NO! Yet it does a more subtle work of helping our hearts to accept what our eyes and spirits know, she is dead here but the future reunion is to be looked for and anticipated.
Quote of the Day;
“Krystal loved symbolism. She was going to a wedding for someone else. She didn’t know she would be going to her own wedding to her Lord.”
-Dale Ropp, Deacon at Kitchi Pines, MN
Comments
We also fill in the graves by hand. I helped cover my grandmother's grave a couple years ago. I also helped cover my Uncle's grave. I believe you need this to help begin healing or bring finality.....